They Have Returned
by AwesomeZombieSlayerGRL
Summary: Ghost Team has received orders to investigate a Covenant presence at one of the Forerunner research facilities. What will they find when they get there?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Alright Ghost team," began Commander Palmer, "just got word from the eggheads up top that one of their research facilities has gone dark. They've tried ever channel they could think of and they have been unsuccessful in raising their buddies. They think the Covies broke in, jammed their signal, and think the bastards are in the process of breaking into some pretty sensitive data files. That's where you guys come in. What I want from you is to infiltrate the facility, kill any alien bastard that gets in your way, find a terminal, copy the data, and purge the building."

"What do you mean by 'purge', Commander?" asked a Spartan named Daniels.

Palmer gave him a look. "Apparently the eggheads say that the facility is already too far gone to recover. They don't want the Covenant getting their hands on anything that would benefit them in any way," Palmer explained, "That's why we have to level it. Demolition charges are already packed in the pelican. Commander Rachel Auri will be leading you today, so I expect the best out of each and every one of you. She'll make sure you all have a layout of the facility. Be ready for anything. Good luck, Spartans." Palmer saluted and departed while Commander Auri quickly sent her team of ten the building's blueprints. They were on the pelican in five minutes and set out to blow up the research facility.

The Spartans were a few minutes away from the LZ when the tech specialist picked up static. "Where's that coming from, Jennings?" asked Auri.

"Near the LZ, Commander," Jennings replied as she plugged away at her datapad. "It's Covenant. They were trying to send out a distress signal. And help never came."

Auri leaned forward in her co-pilot's seat. "Where're all the bodies?" she muttered.

"Sorry, ma'am?" said the pilot named Kent; he turned his head slightly without taking his eyes off the LZ.

"There should be bodies," Auri reiterated louder, "There are signs of a recent fight: plasma burns, shrapnel, debris, overturned turrets, bloodstains. The only thing missing are the casualties."

The pilot nodded stiffly once. "Set the bird there," Auri ordered, pointing to an area about seven hundred feet away from the entrance. The bird slowly descended. In the pelican's cargo bay, Auri could hear her Spartans talk about dead's absence.

"What could scare the Covenant off so bad that they'd risk calling for help?" asked Corillo.

"Maybe the Prometheans got tired of them and kicked the Covies out of their fanclub," replied Corcova as she checked the sights of her rifle.

"Whatever. It all just sounds a little _loco_ to me," Corillo replied. The others nodded in quiet agreement. The pelican touched down softly and the Spartans quickly filed out on high alert, their red, black, and grey Mjolnir armor glinting in the light. Auri and Daniels made their way over to the entrance.

"Door's locked up tight," Daniels annouced quietly. Auri ran a hand over the lock and was shocked by a small bount of electricity. Her shields flashed a for a moment as she withdrew her hand.

"Guess it doesn't like you, Commander," Daniels chuckled nervously. Auri shook her head slightly, a ghost of a smile hidden beneath her helmet as she keyed her COMMs.

"Jennings, need you to unlock a door for us. I don't want to touch it lest I do anymore damage to this place," Auri said. Jennings was by her side within a few seconds. Daniels waved the other seven Spartans over to their position. The Commander felt her gut tighten. _What was it exactly that had the Covenant so scared?_ she wondered. _They couldn't have been frightened of the scientists..._ A cold stone of dread settled into her stomach; it made her feel uneasy. It dawned on her. A section of her studies resurfaced from her memories: something similar to this happened a few years ago when installation 07 was first discovered. She remembered the footage when it was released a few months after the Master Chief returned to Earth. It... was hard to watch. She remembered from the film about a marine commenting on how tightly the Covenant locked up the area. After the door unlocked, all hell broke loose.

This could not be a coincidence. A sudden whooshing noise caught the Commander's attention. She looked up and saw that Jennings had unlocked the door with a spoofer. They were waiting on Auri's cue to enter the building. Auri waved her hand and they walked in. The door slid shut with a soft clink. It sounded final. The tension was already thick in the air. There were bloodstains on the walls and floors which were expected to a degree but the absence of casualties was a major concern. Auri let out a slow breath she had been holding in. Daniels turned his head a fraction in her direction. Auri stopped.

"Something wrong, Commander?" asked Kent.

"It may just be nothing," Auri began, "but I have very bad feeling about this." The other Spartans paused to listen.

"You remember the year Installation 07 was discovered?" Auri asked; she got nods from all of them. "Then, most of you should remember what the UNSC found there."

She noticed that several of her Spartans visibly stiffened.

"It was destroyed when the Master Chief and that Sangheili destroyed the Delta Halo," remarked a Corporal named Kerin.

"It was," Auri replied. The Spartans shifted slightly.

"_If _it is, then we will do whatever we can to make sure it doesn't spread," Auri said, "We will not let it leave this building. Kent, do you still have a remote detonator for the pelican?"

"The one that'll have to blow up my bird? Yeah," Kent replied.

"Keep it safe and secure in case one of them tries to use it." Kent nodded gravely and tucked the detonator safely in one his armor's pouches. The pelican was their only ride out of there and evac was a little over a half hour away.

"We came here with a job to do. Let's make sure we get it done. It'll be quicker if we split five and five. Corcova, you're squad leader; Kerin, Jennings, Shenway, and Hannly, you're with her. You're in charge of data purging. Daniels, Kent, Corillo, and Drinj, you're with me. We're on demo duty." Auri turned to Kent.

"You have the demo charges?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Jennings, you have the command codes for accessing the terminal?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Then we are set and ready to go. Keep radio contact to a minimum. We don't know who's listening. We'll let you know when we've set the charges. Meet you on the other side." The Spartans made their way to their waypoints.


	2. Chapter 2

Ch 2

"So, on top of the Covenant and the Prometheans, we are going to be fighting space zombies?" asked Kerin as he checked the corners of a room.

"They're not just 'space zombies'," Shenway replied, "Haven't you read the reports?" Kerin paused for a moment. "Ah..."

"Thought so," Shenway said smirking, "They don't just infect your body, they absorb your memories and use that information to help their buddies escape. They're very hard to kill and from the reports, don't aim for the head. Go for the chest 'cause that's where those damned infection forms are."

"Well, that's comforting," Kerin grumbled.

"Hey! Quiet!" Shenway hissed. The Spartans froze.

"What did you hear?" Corcova asked.

"I... It sounded liquid," Shenway replied, swiveling her gun in the direction she heard the noise. It sounded again; this time closer. Corcova made a gesture and the Spartan team followed the noise cautiously. They entered a very cluttered room. This time red blood mixed with the purple and blue. There were still no signs of the bodies.

The Spartans fanned out, checking out the room inch by inch.

"Lieutenant Corcova!" Shenway whispered from across the room, "I've found something!" Corcova and the other Spartans walked over to Shenway. Corcova poked her head inside the room and saw three decayed and infected bodies laying on the ground; a scientist was sitting in the corner of the room in a pool of his own blood.

"I don't like this," Hannly whispered.

"Are they dead?" Kerin asked.

"I don't know," Corcova replied, eyeing the bodies warily.

"Should we poke them just in case?" supplied Jennings. Kerin shot her a look.

"Poke them with what?"

"Bullets."

"And waste ammo?"

"We should just be careful. Especially after what Shenway was saying about how these guys work. They're pretty damned smart."

Kerin looked at Corcova who waved her gun at him to go in. Kerin walked in and approached the bodies cautiously. He stood next to an Elite that looked pretty far gone and nudged its arm with the muzzle of his gun. He did this to the other decaying Elite and paused a moment before poking an infected marine. He stood and turned to face his team.

"Told you they were dead," he said. Corcova walked in carefully followed by Shenway and Hannly. Corcova froze and raised her gun at Kerin who balked for a moment.

"Ma'am...?" he started to say when he was knocked down by one of the infected Elites jsut as Corcova's gun went off. Kerin's shields flared as the thing pounded furiously on him. The otehr four Spartans unleashed a flury of bullets on the infected.

"Get. This. Thing. Off. ME!" Kerin yelled as he battled with the parasite. Shenway ran over to her teammate and swung her leg hard at the Elite; it tumbled head over heels into a wall where Shenway placed three bullets in its chest. Kerin scrambled to his feet and grabbed his gun.

"Everyone good?" Corcova asked her team. She recieved nods.

"Check your suits for any punctures. We don't to be sharing suits with these things," Corcova ordered.

Shenway ran a practiced eye over Kerin's suit as he caught his breathe.

"So, bullets next time?" Shenway asked.

"Bullets," he replied.

Corcova paced the room as she opened up her COMMs to Auri.

On the other side of the facility, Auri's group had run into a small group of Covies; they just consisted of a few Grunts and a couple Jackals.

"Where're the Elites?" asked Kent as they mopped up the area.

"Dunno," replied Corillo, "Maybe they used the every-hinge-head-for-themselves tactic when they ran."

A light in Auri's headset flashed as someone tried to contact her. She checked the IFF tag which revealed the caller to be Lieutenant Corcova.

"Guessing you have a good reason to be breaking radio silence, Lieutenant," Auri said as she answered.

"That I do, ma'am," the Spartan replied.

"Talk to me."

"Well, not sure how to put this but your theory proved correct. We just had the luck of encountering three Flood infected bodies." Auri halted her pace and swore quietly.

"Just three?" she asked.

"Yes, ma'am. Two Elites and a... marine. There was a scientist in the room where we found the three but he was already dead, just not infected yet."

"Alright... How far away are you from the terminal?"

"Not far, but I think the Flood knows where we going."

"What makes you say that?"

"Gut feeling. Also Jennings hacked the security system and got a hold of the cameras. There's a large amount of Flood traffic where we're headed."

Auri let out a long breathe. "Roger that, Corcova. Do you need any help clearing them out?"

"No, ma'am. We can handle it."

"Alright. For now, maintain radio silence unless absolutely necessary. See you soon." COMMs cut off and Auri relayed Corcova's findings to her squad.

"Well, shit," Kent muttered.

"C'mon, people. We still got a job to do," Auri replied, "Keep your eyes peeled for any activity."

Auri's squad made their way through the complex, aided by Jennings who sent them live feeds from the hacked security cameras. This was so neither squad didn't have to run into any surprises.

"I highly doubt these parasites will let us walk out with the data," muttered Hannly as they scoped out another room. It was clear.

"We get the data, make sure the Commander and her squad set the demo charges to level this place, and high tail it out of here," Corcova stated, "Jennings, how far away are we from the terminal?"

"About three hundred meters, ma'am. Up the ramp to our left and through the second door on our right."

"Damn," Kerin said as he poked his head into another lab room. The place was cluttered with broken coffee cups, test tubes, computers and data pads, and several sheets of paper with important looking graphs and data on them. There was also small pools of blood; all that was missing was the bodies. Kerin reached down and picked up a data pad near him. He began to scroll through it.

"Anything useful?" Corcova asked.

Kerin scrolled through it for a few seconds and shook his head in disbelief. He turned around to face the Spartans waiting patiently for him.

"I can't believe this," he said.

"What?" Jennings asked. Kerin tossed the data pad to her. Jennings caught it and began to read.

"They were _testing_ on these things?!" she announced, "Why?"

"Probably to see if there was a way to fight them effectively and maybe even find a cure," Shenway suggested. Jennings continued to scroll.

"Dead right, Corporal," Jennings replied, "They came to this facility a few months ago and found that it was a Forerunner research complex. The Forerunners were trying to find a way to combat the Flood." Jennings paused as she continued to read. Corcova tapped her COMMs again to contact her XO.

"Commander..."

"Go ahead, Lieutenant."

"We've just found something interesting. The scientists here were experimenting on the Flood."

Auri paused for a moment before replying, "Experimenting...? Did... they find anything useful? Who did they use?"

"So far they've only found that fire and shots to the chest work best. My guess, and theirs as well, is that to completely eradicate an infected area would be to glass it or at least use a tool similar to it. They were also researching a cure."

"A cure? How can you cure something that completely rewrites your genetic makeup?"

"I don't know."

"From what Jennnings found from the data, they only used the Elites. The Grunts and Jackals were too small to convert into the combat forms. Those two changed into the fat carrier forms. Probably due to lack of calcium in their bodies."

"Upload whatever data you find to the other flashdrive. We'll analyze it on the way home."

"Roger that, ma'am." With a small click, Corcova signed off.


	3. Chapter 3

Ch 3

"So, they were experimenting on the Flood," Drinj reiterated. The Spartan shook his head. "Does anybody realize how stupid that is? I mean, the Flood is extremely contagious. Why test on it when there's a risk of an outbreak?"

"Everything comes with risks, Lieutenant," Auri replied.

"Still... It was pretty damned stupid if you ask me."

"Commander," Jennings said activating COMMs once again, "I'm sending what information we've gotten from the data pad."

"Much appreciated, Corporal," Auri replied and clicked off. A beep in her HUD confirmed Jennings' upload. Auri passed the information along to her squad mates.

"Let's get moving. I don't want to linger here too long," the Commander ordered. Her squad moved out quickly down the hall. As they continued to walk down the hall, the lights overhead began to flicker. The Spartans snapped to attention and froze half way down the corridor. Auri's eyes wandered around the area. There were no doors or windows for the parasite to come out of, but there were openings on the upper walls that resembled ventilation shafts. The Commander prayed that they weren't and that there was not any Flood in them.

The lights flickered once more before remaining steady for a longer amount of time.

"What was that about?" Kent asked softly. None of the answered. A sudden burst of blue-white light at the end of the hallway caught the Spartans' attention.

"...Commander...?" asked Daniels.

Auri waved her hand forward and the Spartans warily walked down to investigate. When they reached the source of the light, they could just barely make out an outline against the glare. Their visors polarized just enough so that they could identify the figure.

"Is that...?" whispered Drinj.

Auri nodded once. The glare softened. There, floating in front of them, was the Librarian. Her blue-pink skin glowed softly against the light. Her dress was made out of some soft material that resembled silk. The aniclla's silver headdress was decorated in complicated Forerunner glyphs that were foreign to the Spartans. The Librarian wore a knowing smile, as if she was already expecting them.

"Are you the ancilla of the Librarian?" Auri asked.

"I am," the Librarian replied, "I have been watching you. I know what your researchers were doing and what they were trying to accomplish."

"So, you understand, despite their good intentions, that it was a stupid idea? I mean, how could they contain it?" Drinj stated. Auri shot him a look which he promptly ignored.

"They were ill prepared and were foolish, yes, but were the Forerunners also foolish for trying to accomplish a similar thing?" the ancilla replied.

Drinj stopped for a moment and tried not to stammer. "I wasn't implying-" he began but was cut off by a wave of the Librarian's hand.

"Wait a minute," Auri said. The Librarian turned her calm and ancient gaze toward the Commander.

"If you were here all along and possessed this knowledge about the Flood, why didn't you help the scientists?" Auri asked. The Librarian's face fell a little.

"I would have," she began.

"What was stopping you?" asked Kent.

"I was locked out of these systems when it went into lock down all those years ago. It was a safeguard set in place so that if the parasite ever broke out, then they would not be able to get their hands on another AI. We've already had that happen before and we weren't planning on letting that happen a second time."

"Can you help us?" asked Daniels.

"Yes. I may have limited access to the databases here but I found several blueprints that may be of use to you." With a flick of her wrist, the ancilla brought up a holographic map that revealed the layout of the whole facility. It also showed the location of both Spartan teams and places where the Flood was the most prominent. The Librarian scrolled through the blueprint until she found what she was looking for. She tapped the glyph twice and that section of the map expanded revealing what looked like an engine room.

"You were sent here with intentions of destroying this facility, correct?" she asked. All four Spartans nodded.

"Those demolition packs you carry may level the building but it won't be able to fully eradicate the Flood from this area."

"Excuse me?" Auri replied, stepping forward, "What do you mean 'they won't be enough'?"

"Your charges do not contain a strong enough plasma presence that a Covenant ship or a Halo contains. They are not powerful enough. These plasma engines that power the facility do. When combined with the charges, they will destroy both the facility and the infestation that resides here."

"Can't you just override the coolant so that the plasma engines burst?" asked Daniels.

"I have limited access to this facility. If I try to access that section an alarm will sound throughout the facility, alerting the Flood of your presence and mine," the Librarian replied grimly.

"Ah," Daniels replied.

"We'd like to avoid that," Auri replied.

"I figured you would," the Librarian said with a small smile. She held out her map to th Commander. The Spartan took it with a questioning look. The Librarian's face turned grim as she studied the Spartan's body language. The Librarian's eyes flicked up to the other Spartans who watched them carefully.

"The less who know the layout, the better," she said. An uneasy feeling of dread coiled itself in Auri's stomach.

"That's... understandable," replied Daniels. A sudden _beeping _sound filled the Spartans' headsets. Auri glanced at the ID and opened the connection.

"What is it, Lieutenant?" she asked.

"Commander, we've found the terminal," replied Corcova, "We're just waiting for your cue to start downloading. I wouldn't be surprised if the Flood will be notified of the data purge and I really don't want to be here to find out."

"Copy that. We're on our way," the Commander replied.

"It's funny. We were walking down a hallway and I turned around because my radar caught a slight blip and right behind us stood at least a half dozen Flood. One of them spotted us and I'm pretty sure he was about to sound the alarm when sentinels flew right past us and attacked them. Then the door slammed down to prevent the Flood from following us."

"Looks like you caught a bit of a break. Use it wisely, Lieutenant."

"Aye aye, ma'am." The channel closed. Auri looked at the Librarian and tilted her head forward.

"I wasn't about to let the parasite get the upper hand," the ancilla stated.

"Thanks," Auri replied. The Librarian smiled and nodded once.

"Let's get going," the Commander announced and the other Spartans started walking towards the exit. The Commander was about to follow her team when the Librarian appeared in front of her; her hands were cupped around a small object.

"Before you go, another Reclaimer had left this here. Please return it." The Librarian opened up her hands and held up a small device that the Spartan recognized as a-

"Commander, you coming?" Drinj called.

"Ah... Yes, I am," Auri replied distractedly as she took the small device and tucked it safely within her armor.

"Good luck," the Librarian replied and faded away. Auri took one last look around the room before catching up with her team.


	4. Chapter 4

Ch. 4  
Auri and her squad quickly made their way towards the engine room. Using the map that the Librarian provided them Auri was able to find shortcuts and small passageways that made getting to their objective, and avoiding the Flood, easier.  
"We're almost there," Auri whispered after consulting the map once again. The engine room was down another staircase followed by a long open hallway that left them with limited cover. There were few doors down there but Auri doubted they would be unlocked.  
"Anything on radar?" Auri asked Drinj.  
"Nothing to report, ma'am."  
"And the pelican, Kent?"  
"She's still good-" Kent swore as he pulled up a live feed from one of the pelican's front cameras. The parasite had found their bird. The Flood were attempting to bring the vehicle online, quickly bypassing any security measures that Kent set in place.  
"Dammit all!" he swore again. The Lieutenant looked at his XO.  
"Do it," Auri ordered. Kent took out the detonator that would destroy his bird, their only ride out of there, and triggered it. The camera feeds instantly shut off.  
"What the hell was that for?!" Drinj demanded.  
"We cannot allow the Flood to leave this area," Auri replied firmly.  
"We just lost our only ride out of here and evac's almost an hour away from here, if we're lucky."  
"What do you want me to do, Drinj? Let the Flood leave so that it could spread to the rest of Requiem?! I can't do that."  
"Why is the Flood even here at all?" Daniels asked, "This is supposed to be a shield world, right?"  
"I think the Forerunners might have been trying to study it and the Flood came close to getting out. The Forerunners sealed off this area, shut it down and placed the Flood in isolation so that they'll go dormant for awhile and starve since they're cut off from their food source," Kent supplied.  
"There must have only been a few individuals left here before our scientists went and woke up the Flood," Auri replied.  
"If they had to placate the Flood... I don't even want to know what they used to feed them," Daniels muttered.  
"Feeding the Flood most likely increased the risk of outbreak," Drinj grumbled.  
"Look," Auri said, "I know you're not happy with the situation we've been placed in but we have a job that needs finishing. Corcova is standing by, waiting for us to set the charges. The longer we stand here, the more danger she and the rest her squad are placed in. Let's move."  
The other Spartans reluctantly left the room they had entered and headed down the staircase. When they reached the hallway, Auri held up her hand. The others stopped and crouched down where they stood.  
"What is it?" Kent whispered.  
"Something's not right here," Auri replied softly.  
"Tell something I don't know," Drinj muttered. Auri snapped her head back around and slashed her hand across her neck, ordering him to keep quiet. Drinj nodded once and returned to looking around the hallway.  
"Did you hear something?" Kent asked.  
"Yes. I don't know what it was but we are definitely not alone," Auri responded. Suddenly, a clattering noise a few feet behind the Spartans sounded. Daniels and Drinj spun around, guns at the ready.  
"Commander, I think we've overstayed our welcome," Daniels said.  
"Agreed. Move!" Auri hissed and took off down the hallway with the others close behind her.  
They were halfway down the hall when one of the supposedly locked doors flew off its hinges and into the Spartans' path. Auri tumbled over it, followed closely by Kent and Daniels. Drinj sidestepped it and was almost clear of the door when something green and grey grabbed the Spartan's left leg and yanked him out of the air. Drinj barely had time to scream as he smacked the ground and was dragged into the room; his shields flared and were nearly drained.  
"HELP!" he yelled when he managed to fill his lungs with air and fired his assault rifle. Auri, Kent, and Daniels skidded to a halt and scrambled back to their downed teammate. Daniels put on a burst of speed and sprinted into the room. He barreled into the closest Flood and fired in short bursts. By the time Auri and Kent entered the room, Daniels had already taken down two Flood and was grappling with the one the grabbed Drinj.  
Kent brought up his pistol and fired over Daniels' shoulder, hitting the Flood once in the head and twice in collar bone. It staggered backward giving Daniels time to grab the Flood by the arm and slammed his fist into its chest. He found the infection form that had taken up residence within its host's chest cavity and squeezed it. He was rewarded with a satisfying pop! as the infection form imploded. Bits of its tissue scattered to the ground as the combat form collapsed. Daniels shook his hand and wiped whatever gore he could off his armor.  
Auri and Kent stomped on the chests of the remaining Flood corpses, ensuring the improbability of them reanimating. Auri swiveled her head around and spotted Drinj laying on the ground, one hand covering a dent in his armor. Drinj used his other hand to take off his helmet and met hir XO's gaze. The Commander's chest tightened painfully.  
Please tell me the armor held. Pleasepleaseplease-  
Drinj coughed and spat up a bit of blood.  
"You don't so well there, buddy," Daniels said as kneeled down to examine his teammate's injuries.  
"I've felt better," Drinj replied and coughed again. It sounded worse this time. The Lieutenant twisted his body away from the other Spartans and coughed violently into the crook of his arm. Auri spotted a larger pool of blood and spit somewhat hidden beneath Drinj's shadow when he came up. His face was losing its color.  
"Daniels, do you still have that med kit?" Auri asked. Daniels nodded once and opened up his pack to take out the kit. "Alright," Auri said and kneeled down to face Drinj, "Drinj, we'll seal you up and get you ground side as soon as we blow the generators. You just have to stay with us."  
"Don't think I'll... be able to manage... that, Commander," Drinj replied with a weak smile. Kent turned head around to look at his teammate. Daniels froze with the biofoam in one hand.  
"What're you saying?" Daniels asked warily.  
"The damned parasites knocked down my shields and already punctured my suit's biolayer by the time you guys got here. Had you gotten in... about five seconds later, it might've... tapped my spinal cord and I would've been gone by now. But they know how to get the job done. The virus... is in my system as we speak," Drinj explained wearily.  
Auri swore and paced the room for a few seconds. Daniels refused to meet his teammate's eyes. The sudden click of a readied gun echoed in the small room. Auri and Daniels looked up to see Kent pointing his pistol at Drinj's head.  
"What do you think you are doing?" Auri demanded.  
"Commander, Drinj is infected with the Flood virus. We both know what the Flood will do if they get a hold of his body," Kent said as he adjusted his grip on the gun.  
"They won't get my body," Drinj replied before Auri voiced her protests. "Our suits can be converted into bombs, remember? The Spartan II suits had that program built into them so that if a Spartan went down in a field full of covies, the bomb would be activated and the covies wouldn't be able to access any of our tech." The Commander moved to her belt, removed her pistol from its holster and handed it butt first to Drinj. The Spartan shook his head.  
"I've got mine," he said, gesturing with his DMR, "Pistol's on my belt. You're gonna need all the firepower to get out of here." Auri nodded once, her face grim behind her visor. She stood.  
"Sure you don't need anything else?" asked Daniels.  
"Could use a couple hundred shiva nukes, a beer and a way off this godforsaken planet, but that would probably be too much for me to ask," Drinj replied, laughing softly.  
Daniels' shoulders dropped slightly. Kent lowered his aim on Drinj and holstered his weapon.  
"We'll do what we can," Kent said.  
"Blow 'em to hell, Commander," Drinj said.  
"Gladly." Auri saluted her comrade and swallowed around the lump in her throat as they left the room.  
"Good luck," Drinj whispered as they left the room.

"What the hell?" Jennings yelped in shock.  
"What's wrong-?" Corcova started to ask and checked her HUD. Drinj's bio signs flat lined. She felt her blood run cold.  
She opened a secure channel to her commander as everyone else set up a perimeter around the terminal.  
"Commander! Where's Drinj?" Corcova asked as soon as Auri answered the line.  
"Drinj is dead," Auri replied in monotone, "Flood... got to him." Corcova swore expressively in Russian.  
Corcova took a deep breath and exhaled slowly before replying. "I'm sorry, Commander."  
"So am I. Are you still by the terminal?"  
"Ready... and waiting, ma'am."  
"Good. We've just reached the generator room. Drinj's suit is... set to blow in about twenty five- now twenty three- minutes."  
"Copy that, ma'am. Jennings will begin the data purge." Corcova signalled to the tech specialist to work her magic. Jennings entered in the override codes and began extracting data and transferring it over to a data chip that was inserted into the system.  
"Alright. We'll set the charges now. Kent had to detonate the pelican when the Flood found it. We couldn't risk them getting out of the facility and spread to the rest of Requiem. Daniels is trying to open a secure channel to HQ to see if we can get a lift. Get ready to run. The charges, coupled with the generators, won't give us much time to double back. Check your escape routes, watch your backs. Flood's not gonna be overly thrilled getting fried."  
"Aye aye, ma'am. Jennings is nearly done pulling the data. We're just about done here."  
"Copy that. We'll see you on the other side."  
"See you then." Corcova closed the channel and looked over at Jennings. The corporal nodded. She was done.  
"Let's get a move on people," Corcova announced and turned around. Shenway, Kerin and Hannly were sweeping the area.  
"Something wrong?" Corcova asked.  
"Thought we heard something, ma'am," Hannly replied not taking her eyes one dark corner of the room.  
"Here we go again," Jennings muttered and tucked the data chip into one her armor's pockets.  
"I've got movement!" hissed Kerin.  
"Where?" Corcova whispered, instantly gesturing to Jennings to move closer.  
"Damn it," Kerin murmured, "Lost it."  
"No, you didn't," Shenway said, turning her flashlights on. The white light pierced the shadows as she swiveled her head back and forth, checking behind the equipment in the room. "I just saw it," she murmured to herself. She gently pulled back a panel.  
"Aha!" She sounded triumphant. Her arm lashed out and quickly withdrew. In her hands was an infection form that had been skirting their radars, playing a deadly game of hide and seek with the Spartans.  
"Gotcha, ya little bastard!" she said grinning behind her helmet. The infection form gave a tiny squeak as the Spartan tightened her grip on it. "Oh, cry me a river. Mommy and Daddy can't hear you." She taunted the little thing.  
A flash of red showed up Hannly's radar.  
"Uh, I think Mummy and Daddy have come back for their kid," she said turning on her own lights, "Shenway, you might want to finish up."  
"You're such a party pooper. I was having fun," Shenway replied and gave the infection form one last tight squeeze before it popped. The Spartan wiped her hands and picked up her weapon.  
"You are so going to get sued for that," Hannly muttered.  
"And that's why I never let you around my kids," Kerin whispered as he looked around.  
"You have kids?" Shenway asked as she rejoined her team.  
"No. If I did, you're not babysitting," Kerin replied.  
"Quiet!" Corcova ordered as Shenway snorted. Jennings was more or less in the middle of the small circle the other Spartans formed around.  
"No matter what happens, this data has to get out," Corcova murmured to her team, "The Flood can't get it." Green acknowledgement lights winked once in her HUD.  
Corcova gestured for her team to start moving out of the immediate area. They turned off their flashlights and activated the night vision feature on their HUDs. The light in front of each Spartan turned a filmy green.  
Another flash of red skirted the edges of their radars. Corcova gestured again and the Spartans picked up their pace as they each received a countdown timer from Auri. The charges were set. Below the timer was Drinj's suit timer. They had about fifteen minutes before that blew. A red dot ran a little close to the Spartans. Corcova saw a green arm lash out at her visor. She ducked and slammed the butt of her rifle into its chest. The infection form within gave under the impact. The Spartans separately engaged the combat forms that threw themselves at their bullets. Anger and frustration shot through Hannly as she watched a previously "dead" combat form rise up again with a new infection form. It was hard to focus on the little bastards when you have the hosts attacking you at the same time. She slammed her gun down hard in the nearest Flood body. She repeated the action two more times before it was knocked out of her hands.  
Hannly looked up to see a lone combat form staring her down. It ran at her after meeting the Spartan's gaze. Hannly stepped into an easy fighting position and was prepared to knock it down when it suddenly leapt twenty feet into the air. Hannly spun around and saw that it was going for Jennings.  
They know, Hannly thought and hurried to save her teammate from impending death.


	5. Chapter 5

Ch 5

With the charges set, Auri's group scampered out there quick. Just as they left the room, there was already a procession of Flood standing by to greet.  
"Nice welcome party," Kent muttered, "Where's the refreshments?"  
"Probably over there by the big blinking sign that says Exit," Corillo replied pointing across the room. Sure enough, there was an exit sign. They just had to get around the Flood to get to it. Surprisingly, the parasite hadn't even noticed the Spartans; their backs were turned. Auri ordered her squad to stay quiet and keep low.  
"Do not engage the enemy," she signed with her hands. Three acknowledgement lights flashed once. The commander waved her hand forward and the group quietly walked past the Flood.  
This is waaaaaay too easy, Auri thought suspiciously as they stuck to the shadows. Suddenly she was yanked back. She nearly tumbled to the floor. Pure military skills had kept her mouth clamped shut so that she wouldn't attract any unwanted attention. Regaining her balance, she spun around with a glare and saw that Daniels had just removed his hand from her back. He pointed in front of her; Auri glanced back; she was grateful that she hadn't yelled. There was a Flood sentry posted just a few feet in front of her. Had Daniels not pulled her back, she would've crashed into the back of the thing.  
She nodded a thanks to her comrade before continuing, giving the sentry a wide berth. She glanced up at the timer in her HUD. They had about seventeen minutes left before things got dicey. They reached the exit and crept around the door before standing up and booking it. They ran for eight hundred meters before having to go on the defense again. A larger group of infected stood a hundred feet away from them. Kent tapped Auri's shoulder and gestured to a doorway that led to a hallway where they could avoid the Flood. Auri glanced up at the timer again and nearly stopped in her tracks.  
"Damn it," she muttered. The timer had stopped at 15:45. The others noticed it. They waited until they were all in the room before speaking for fear of being overheard by the parasite. Daniels locked the door behind them. They still kept their voices low.  
"Commander," Corillo said, "We need to get that timer started again." Auri resisted the urge of giving the Private her "no shit" look.  
"What do you suggest we do, then?" Auri asked.  
Corillo replied without hesitating, "Let me and Daniels head back and get it started again." Daniels' head turned slightly but the Spartan didn't object.  
"Once that's done, we'll radio in HQ and get a ride from there," Daniels replied.  
"Alright," Auri replied, "You better hurry back. Drinj's suit is go-" Auri's eyes flicked up to the separate timer for the suit's detonation and swore again. It was also stopped.  
"Damn them," Kent growled.  
"Alright people, we need to move. We can't do much about Drinj's suit except put a bullet in his head and hope the timer starts up again." The Spartans gave her slightly stunned looks. Auri sighed, feeling the weight on her shoulders growing heavier. "It's morbid but he's infected now. Corillo and Daniels, get your asses back to the generator room, activate the charges again, and get the hell out of here. We'll grab our own ride and meet you guys home," Auri continued.  
"Aye aye, ma'am," the two Spartans replied and took off back the way they came.  
"Ma'am?" Kent asked quietly.  
"We're going to head over to Corcova and see what's taking her so long," she replied. The Spartans crept around the Flood forms posted around the area and slipped out a doorway. Auri locked, hoping it would slow down any Flood that would try to escape the building once the charges by the generators blew.

Hannly watched the combat form soar over her head, knew its intended target, and ran for Jennings. Hannly tackled Jennings to the ground just as the combat form landed on them. Hannly spun around onto her back and kicked the parasite off them. Once it landed, Hannly pulled out her pistol and fired four times. The last bullet punctured the infection form and the Flood went down. Jennings got to her feet and noticed that Hannly didn't have her assault rifle. The Spartan tossed her friend an extra pistol.  
"Six 'o clock, Han!" Jennings yelled. Hannly turned around and slammed the butt of her pistol into a carrier form. The Spartan had only a second to realize her mistake before she was thrown backward across the room. Her shields drained halfway from the explosion and nearly broke when she landed. She scrambled to her feet and fired as sparingly as she could at the infection forms that scurried hungrily towards their next potential meal. Two were shot, five more popped from the debris. This would have been almost too easy had there not have been so many.  
Seeing his teammate in danger, Kerin sprayed the area at Hannly's feet with bullets. Hannly jumped over the infection forms as they popped until she made it over to her comrade's side.  
"Corcova! We need to leave. We're too boxed in!" Hannly yelled.  
"The damned door shut behind us just as the Flood dropped in. I think it's some sort of containment protocol. Assumption is that it won't open until these guys are down for the count," the liuetenant replied.  
"Well, let's spray and pray," Kerin muttered under his breath as he knocked another combat form that threw itself at him. The Spartans backed themselves against a wall closest to the door panel.  
"Jennings, see if you can get this door open!" Corcova ordered. The corporal nodded and went to work on the terminal. Kerin and Hannly flanked her, keeping the parasite away from her. Another group of Flood had just arrived. Kerin, bumping his forearm up against his ammo belt as he reloaded, noticed he still had three grenades left. He grabbed off the belt, pulled the pin and cooked it for as long as he dared and threw it just as he yelled, "FIRE IN THE HOLE!"  
The grenade bounced once and rolled into the thickest part of the new group before exploding. Several Flood limbs were thrown around the room and bounced off the Spartans' armor.  
"That... was pretty cool," Hannly murmured. There were only a few parasites left when the door suddenly opened. Jennings glanced up from the panel and said, "That wasn't me. Wh-" The rest of her sentence was drowned out by the sound of twin AR's firing. Auri and Kent had made it just in time. When the last combat form fell, the commander and lieutenant walked in.  
"Commander, aren't you supposed to be heading out?" Corcova asked as soon as she saw her XO.  
"Heard you needed some help and thought we'd dropped by to give you a hand," Auri replied.  
"Thanks. They just kept coming..." Corcova took another look around the room.  
"We'd better leave before Corillo and Daniels arm the charges again. You know how much Corillo loves his fireworks."  
"Hopefully Daniels has is smart enough to keep him from adding anything to that mixture."  
"Hopefully, yeah." The timer suddenly beeped in their HUDs.  
"Looks like they made it," Kent announced.  
"Let's move, people!" Auri ordered. The Spartans turned around to head for the doorway when something wet and slippery landed right behind them. Hannly and Kerin turned around quickly; the others followed suite. Auri felt her blood run cold as she looked into the infected eyes of her former teammate.  
Oh, sonuva...  
The former Spartan threw himself at Jennings immediately, barely giving the others time to respond. He- it knocked the other Spartans aside, barrelled into Jennings, knocked her down, and grabbed hold of her ankle before she had a chance to react. Kent recovered first and deactivated the short burst function on his AR. He emptied half the clip into his infected friend before his shields even broke. Even then he could a hell of a lot more damage than he could before. Jennings pulled out her remaining pistol and fired as best she could from the awkward angle she was in.  
The Flood Spartan hardly registered the bullets entering his body as he pulled his quarry into the darkest corner of the room. Behind a big terminal lay a damaged panel that led to a maintenance shaft. This tunnel stretched all throughout the facility. Auri and Hannly ran forward to help their teammate when another wave of Flood fell upon them. A few seconds into the fight, a slight humming sound pierced the air. The Spartans looked up to see five sentinels floating about twelve above the ground. Their golden-red lasers soon found their targets. Kerin, taking advantage of the momentary break, pushed past the Flood and threw his body into the infected Spartan that was slowly making his way into the maintenance tunnel. Kerin spun Drinj around and slammed his fist into Drinj's helmet causing it to fracture. A piece of the visor fell off and Kerin found himslef staring into a feverish red eye of hell.


	6. Chapter 6

Ch. 6  
The Flood threw Kerin off when it felt the Spartan go slack for a split second. Kerin got back to his feet and drew his combat knife.  
His eyes flitted to the limp form laying on the ground next to the parasite.  
"You bastard!" Kerin roared and charged at the Flood again. He feigned to the right and rolled under the Flood's attempt to knock him aside. Kerin swung his leg around and smacked his heel into the side of the Flood's head. It staggered under the blow. Releasing its defeat was nigh, the former Spartan issued a blood curdling shriek and darted off into the darkness before the other Spartans could fire at it. The instant the thing left, Kerin hurried over to Jennings. He rolled the corporal onto her back. Her visor was cracked from being slammed to ground. Auri, seeing her wounded teammate, immediately ordered her squad to form a protective ring around Kerin and Jennings. The Spartans were about to comply when Kerin said, "Commander, we can't stay here. Did you see where Dri- it was trying to take her?"  
"No." Kerin got and walked over to the place where the damaged panel lay.  
"They're using the maintenance shafts. That's how they're getting around."  
"Of course they are."  
"We need to get out of here before more of them show up."  
"What about the sentinels, ma'am?" Hannly asked warily. Auri threw a glance up at the sentinels and almost jumped back from surprise as one of the hovered a few inches from her face; she hadn't heard it approach. It almost seemed to waggle its fins at her as if it was trying to say something.  
"We could use their help, assuming they're with the Librarian," Auri replied without taking her eyes off the machine.  
"If they start trying to fry us, do I have your permission to shoot them?" Hannly asked. Auri snorted softly.  
"Yes, Corporal, you have my permission to shoot the laser shooting floaty machines." The small smile faded from the commander's face as she turned her attention to Jennings and Kerin.  
"How is she?" Auri asked. Kerin pulled up Jennings bio signs and suit damage.  
"Suit took most of the impact but her shields blew after that and they didn't have a chance to reacharge. Her visor's smashed to hell..." Suddenly, Jennings started to get up. Kerin had taken off her helmet to examine her closely and had seen that something had punctured the bio layer at the base her neck and the skin beneath it. The two shared a look. Jennings pressed the data disk into Kerin's hand and turned her gaze to the others.  
"You need to leave now," she said.  
"Wait... what? Why?!" Shenway demanded.  
"While you were fighting, an infection form had found its way over to me and punctured the bio layer at my neck and was on its way to... convert me the old fashion way when... it realized that was it going to pop. My guess was that Kerin was nearing it and it... injected me with the virus," Jennings explained.  
"Can you explain to me as to how you understood what that thing was thinking?" Auri calmly asked her comrade.  
"I... don't know, ma'am. It sounds kinda corny but when it punctured my skin and was going to tap my spine, I could just know what it was thinking. I don't think it realized that and that's why it kept going until it sensed Kerin nearby and started spreading the virus."  
"This doesn't even make any sense," Hannly stated.  
"It doesn't but it's what happened. L-leave now." The corporal took a shakey breath and drew her pistol. She flipped up the armor panel on her forearm and started typing away at the small terminal beneath it. Another timer popped up on the Spartans HUDs. It was Jennings suit detonator.  
"This time I am making... sure this... damned thing... goes off," she said and smashed the panel, destroying it as best she could. The timer continued to tick down.  
"Flood... won't be... able to stop... it now," Jenning's said, giving her team a weak smile. She suddenly doubled over in pain and cradled her stomach. She pushed herself back into a sitting position and placed the pistol as best she could against her temple. She took a couple deep breaths and looked her XO in the eye. Auri nodded once to her teammate.  
"Come one, people. We have to move," Auri said and began ushering the rest of her squad out the door. Two sentinels remained in the room with Jennings. A small wave of anger washed over Auri. That was her teammate, her friend and fellow Spartan... but the machines were only doing what they were programed to do: to contain the Flood and prevent the parasite from spreading.  
Auri glanced at the charges' timer; they had 13:08 minutes left. That whole exchange had only lasted a little over two minutes. Auri pulled up the map that the Librarian had provided the Spartans with. She zoomed in on one area that was lit up in red coloring. She tapped the location once and a label popped up.  
"Infection in sector 9B is at 78%," a tiny mechanical voice announced. Well, shit, Auri thought. She zoomed out until she found the sector they were in. Red surrounded them on all corners. She glanced up and saw that her squad was fifty feet in front of her. She hadn't realized she had stopped. Another sentinel hovered in front of her face. She eyed it for a moment, an idea hatching in her mind. Auri hurried over to her team and announced her findings.  
"There's Flood all in this sector?" Kent repeated in shock.  
"Yes but I think our little forerunner machines here may be able to help get us out," Auri replied.  
"That is unless they're leading us into a trap where they'll go all laser-face on our asses," Shenway muttered under her breath. Hannly smothered her snort of nervous laughter as best she could; it came out as a tiny sneeze. Kerin glanced over at the two and shook his head, a ghost of a smile on his lips. They were all drained from this mission in more ways than one. Who could blame the two for cracking lame jokes under the pressure they were in.  
Auri turned around to address the trio of sentinels that had followed them.  
"Could you give a sign that you understand me? Waggle your fins? Bob up and down?" she asked.  
The sentinels floated there for a few uneasy seconds before one moved closer to Auri's face. Auri forced herself to remain still and the sentinel bobbed up and down. Auri nodded her head.  
"Okay... We need your help. Flood surround this whole sector and we need a safe route out of this place before it's levelled," she explained. The sentinels pondered the human's request before speeding off down the hall forcing the Spartans to run after them.  
The machines led them throw a maze of long hallways and hairpins, sometimes narrowly avoiding tangling with the Flood forms that wandered the halls. The Spartans were running down another long hallway that contained no visible entrances when metal doors started slamming down barely missing the Spartans' backs.  
"Dammit, I knew they were leading us into a trap!" Shenway yelled as she swerved to avoid getting cut in half.  
"It might be a containment protocol. Flood infection's spreading," Kent hollered back. Suddenly a door slammed down between the Spartans. Hannly, Kent, and Corcova couldn't stop and face planted into the door with a resounding smack. Shenway, Kerin, and Auri spun around to see that they were cut off from the others.  
"Shit," Kerin said. Up ahead the trio of sentinels stopped as one flew back to the Spartans and hovered by Auri. It then floated up to the ceiling where a small hole opened up. The sentinel buzzed in and the door closed behind it.  
"Lieutenant, you copy?" Auri said as she keyed her COMMs.  
"Read you, ma'am," Corcova answered.  
"One of the sentinels is heading your way. Gonna getcha out of here."  
"It's already here. Go on ahead we'll catch up-" the Spartan started to swear in russian.  
"What's going on?" Auri demanded.  
"More Flood. Get going, ma'am. We'll hold them off. Protect that data at all cos-" Corcova grunted as something landed on her. Static and the sound of gunfire filled the transponder, then the woman's voice came in over the fray.  
"GET OUT OF HERE NOW!"she yelled just as the link was severed.


	7. Chapter 7

Ch. 7  
The three Spartans booked it down the hall to the other two sentinels that floated there, waiting patiently for them. One of them tapped into a nearby terminal as Auri opened an emergency channel.  
"This is Spartan Rachel Auri, serial number 3456-5673-234-RA, commander of the fireteam sent into the research facility Delta-Theta requesting immediate evac. Does anyone read me, over?" Static filled their ears as the sentinel continued to work at the terminal.  
"This is Commander Auri. Anybody there?" The static slowly faded away. Auri glanced up to see the other sentinel flexing its fins as if trying to find better reception.  
"It's trying to boost the signal!" Shenway exclaimed. Sure enough, the static faded out just so that a male voice struggled through.  
"Sp...tan ...ri, this...s HQ. We can barely... he..r... you. Boost...g your sig...l now." There was a small pop and the static lifted enough to where it didn't obscure the signal.  
"There we go," announced a cheery voice on the other end, "Spartan Auri, do you copy?"  
"I copy," Auri replied, her voice pregnant with relief as she recognized the voice to be the AI Roland.  
"Good. You said you needed immediate evacuation at the research facility?"  
"Yes. As does Spartans Daniels and Corillo."  
"I haven't been able to raise either of them."  
"Well, the timers are still going and their vital signs are still active, so they're alive-" Auri and Roland were cut off by the sudden burst of static.  
"Commander! It's Daniels! Corillo and I just made it to some kind of hangar bay," Daniels announced over the chatter of gunfire, "Where are you?"  
"Daniels, I wouldn't recommend picking us up right now. There's Flood all around our area," Auri replied.  
"Wait, Flood?!" Roland sputtered.  
"Yes, Roland. We discovered that the scientists here found out that this building was a containment facility that focused on isolating and studying the Flood for any weaknesses and a possible cure. The scientists tried to pick up where the Forerunners left off but they must have tripped something and now the whole complex is in the process of being overrun," Auri explained.  
Roland was silent for a few moments which was long for an AI. "All other fireteams are currently... unavailable at the moment," he said.  
"All of them?" Auri repeated.  
"Save for one Spartan."  
"Send whoever you can, Roland. We'll be waiting."  
"Stay alive and stay safe."  
"We'll try." Auri sent the AI their coordinates and the channel cut off. Daniels and Auri were alone on the line. Auri breathed out.  
"Intel dropped the ball. We couldn't have known the Flood were still kicking," Daniels said softly.  
"We're Spartans. We're trained to expect the unexpected," Auri replied, a bit of anger coloring her voice.  
"We're only human, Commander. We can't expect everything."  
Auri snorted softly. "Hah. Yeah," she murmured.  
"Look, I'll do what I can to draw their attention away from your position."  
"Be careful, Private."  
"I'll try, Commander." The line cut off. Shenway and Kerin were already clued in on what had occurred.  
"So, we waiting here?" Shenway asked.  
"Too risky. Flood could pour in any second and we'd be stuck with our backs to a wall until we ran out of bullets if we stayed here," the commander replied.  
"They'll come in from anywhere," Kerin said, "We'll be screwed either way."  
"Look," Auri said, patience wearing down from fatigue, both mental and physical, "We stay here, we'll be sitting ducks. We move now, they'll have a harder time zeroing in on our position. Now, you either come with me or you can stay here and greet the guests. It's your choice."  
The sentinel buzzed slightly and the door slid open. Without looking back, Auri started jogging on through with one of the sentinels leading the way. Shenway followed her a heart beat later. Kerin took off after Shenway a couple seconds later. The second sentinel behind them sealed the door behind them.

Auri glanced up a the timer again: 11:24 minutes left. They took a sharp left turn when Corillo's vitals flatlined. Kerin swore explosively. Shenway almost punched the wall on her right as she ran. They picked up their pace until they very nearly matched the sentinels' fast flying, anger fueling them. Auri only hoped that Daniels managed to make it out.  
The COMMs channel buzzed and Auri opened the line. "This is Spartan 117," said a male voice, "I've just reached the back of the facility. Send me your coordinates."  
"Roland sent him?" Shenway asked incredulously. Auri shot the corporal a look before answering.  
"This is Commander Auri. Sending you our coordinates now," she said as she quickly typed out a command on her forearm datapad.  
The Spartan on the other line was silent for two full heartbeats. "Coordinates recieved. I'll open up a passage to you and send you the coordinates so you'll get a straight shot to evac."  
"Thanks for coming. Standing by." The line cut off and they continued to run. The two sentinels put on a boost of speed and stopped two hundred yards away. One was furiously zapping at a control panel while the other kept watch. The Spartans caught up with the two machines. Auri pulled up the map and scrolled around till she found their location.  
"It's an elevator," she said, addressing the doors in front of them.  
"Where does it go?" asked Shenway as she and Kerin kept watch. Auri scrolled through the map.  
"It'll drop us off by the scientists' quarters. Last place we should go since it might be full of combat forms, but what choice do we have?"  
"Maybe we'll get lucky and there won't be anybody," Kerin said.  
Shenway snorted. "Yeah, when pigs fly," she replied. The elevator dinged open and the Spartans stepped in. The two sentinels floated up the ceiling where a small door slid open, like last time, and they flew in.  
"They're just gonna leave us?" Shenway asked.  
"They wouldn't leave if they didn't we were safe," Auri replied.  
"I still don't trust the silvery bastards," Kerin muttered, "Even if they are helping us."  
"It's the Librarian helping us. She wouldn't betray us now," Auri said.  
"And how do you know that, Commander?" Shenway asked as the doors slid shut and the elevator rose up.  
Auri looked over at the corporal. "I just know. I can't explain it."  
"What if the elevator suddenly stops and the Flood want to get on? I don't think any of us are experts in forerunner tech," Shenway replied glancing at the ceiling.  
"It won't," Auri replied with certainty.  
"I wish I shared your optimism and faith in our forerunner friends, ma'am, 'cause if the forerunners and their tech have betrayed us in the past, then I wouldn't put it past them to do it again."  
"No, you don't. Even I'm not sure," Auri murmured so quietly to where she mouthed the words.  
The elevator slowed to a stop and the doors opened. The three Spartans assumed a defensive posture and carefully walked out. All around them lay dismembered bodies, human, Covenant and Flood alike. Nobody was home.  
"Gross," Shenway muttered, "Glad I can't smell anything right now."  
"Guess pigs are flying now, Shen," Kerin joked. Shenway growled at him.  
"Focus, people. This is too easy," Auri ordered. The two quieted their joking and fanned out looking for survivors, data, anything else that would help them.  
"We've got a little over nine minutes left," Auri whispered. Her HUD beeped softly. She opened the message: it was the evac coordinates. Auri gestured to her team and glanced up at her HUD again. The other three Spartans', Corcova, Hannly, and Kent, vitals flickered between flatlining and active. Auri's hands formed fists as she fought the urge to run back to her squad.  
"We need to move now," she ordered. The other two nodded and made for the door at the back end of the room. Auri lagged behind making sure nothing attacked her teammates. She turned her slightly to the left and something shot from the side of her vision. She saw it too late. Another infected Spartan. She didn't think about who it could be as she emptied her clip into its back. Kerin and Shenway had enough sense to jump out of the way as soon as they heard gunfire. The bullets smacked into the creature but it didn't seem to register the pain. Shenway and Kerin were separated as they jumped aside in opposite directions. The creature zeroed in on Kerin, somehow knowing he had the data. It raised it arm back just as Shenway brought up her gun and fired into it.  
"Commander!" Kerin yelled and lobbed the data chip in Auri's direction. The Spartan sprinted forward, covering the hundred yards in the blink of an eye. She snatched the chip out of the air and quickly pocketed it next to the other chip the Librarian had given her to protect. She landed and rolled into an offensive stance with her gun sites on the combat form doing its best to pummel the shit out of Kerin. Under Shenway and Auri's gunfire, it finally collapsed into a heap of flayed flesh and armor. Kerin shoved the corpse off him and got up, his combat knife covered in gray-green gore. He repressed a shudder after seeing the Flood's face.  
"You alright?" Shenway asked.  
"Shaken up but fine," the Spartan replied.  
8:33 ticked by.


	8. Chapter 8

Ch. 8

They hurried through the quarter's section of the building before they were contacted again.

"Change of plans, Spartans," the Spartan II announced over the COMMs, "Flood are swarming the current LZ. I'll circle around to find a better place to land. I'll radio once I've landed."

"Copy that, sir. Just a heads up: We only have eight minutes left until this whole place blows skyward," Auri said.

"Understood." With that said, they hung up.

"You guys catch that?" the commander asked her teammates.

"Crystal clear, ma'am," Shenway replied.

"So what do we do now? Wait?" Kerin asked.

"Commander!" came Daniels' voice over the COMM channel.

"Yeah?"

"I've located your IFF tags. I'm in the area and could make a quick sweep and pick you guys up."

"You were to vacate the area, Private," Auri replied.

"I was going to wait until the last possible second to leave in case things went south."

"They already have," Shenway muttered low though Daniels still picked up her voice.

"I meant _farther_ south," he replied, "Sending you my location. You guys better get here fast before the folks here notice me."

"Gotcha. On our way," Auri answered as soon as she received the coordinates. The channel cut off and the three ran to where Daniels was waiting patiently for them.

"Kerin, you mind informing the Chief?" Auri asked.

"On it, ma'am," he replied. The Spartan keyed his COMMs, relayed the new information, and waited for a response.

"Alright. Got it, sir," Kerin said and signed off, "He said that he'll hang around a few minutes until we get onto Daniels' pelican. Then he'll bug out."

"Sounds like a plan," Shenway said as they continued to run. Two minutes later, the Spartans reached the back entrance to the complex where they were supposed to meet Daniels.

"Commander, you still have the data chip?" Kerin asked. Auri patted the armor pocket on her side. The other Spartan nodded and they cautiously stepped outside. All was quiet.

"I so do not like this," Shenway murmured, "Too quiet."

"It would be quiet if you'd shut up," Kerin said glancing around a corner.

"Bite me," Shenway snapped but she quieted. Auri opened her channel and tapped out an all clear signal. After ten seconds of complete silence, a low hum sounded above them as the pelican descended. The drop bay doors slid open as soon as the pelican touched down. The Spartans clambered onboard just as the Flood entered the court yard. The bay doors had yet to close when one combat form shouldered a rocket launcher.

"Oh fuck!" Daniels swore over the intercom. He tried to dodge it and the missile smacked into the bottom of the bay door. The impact rocked the bird, rolling the Spartans around in its belly. Auri suddenly found herself rolling towards the back of the bird; the doors were still open.

"Shit shit shit shit SHIT!" she yelled as she tried to slow her descent. She grabbed onto the side of the pelican as she slid out. Shenway and Kerin weren't able to make it over to their commander as Daniels swerved again as another rocket locked onto them. Auri lost her grip and she fell to the ground. It was only a two hundred foot drop but the landing drained more than half her shields. The Spartan rolled as she hit the ground. She landed on her feet and took off, not stopping to look behind her. She glanced up and saw that Daniels was still hovering around.

"Daniels, get out of here! Now!" she ordered.

"Commander-" Daniels started to say.

"NOW! Don't wait for me! I'll find a way home!"

Daniels hesitated before replying, "...Copy that... ma'am. Meet you back the base." Auri closed the channel and skidded into a wall. She spotted a terminal, opened it and unlocked a nearby door. She slipped in. Somehow, the Flood had not noticed her fall. They must have been too preoccupied with the pelican to note her presence. Her luck hadn't run out on her yet.


	9. Chapter 9

Ch. 9  
The Spartan thought as she ran through the complex.  
Have only 5:29 left. Might not make it out of here alive. Least I could do would be to hand over the data and the chip to him now in case those asshole bitches drop in again. SHIT!  
Auri glanced up in time to nearly run into a carrier form. She skipped around it and continued to run. The fall from the pelican left her without her weapons since they weren't locked onto her armor properly.  
Focus! Can't engage them hand-to-hand. Too risky. Especially now that they have Spartan training... That thought left a horrible taste in her mouth and her stomach turned into knots.  
"Commander Auri, come in. Do you read me?" Auri glanced at the IFF tag: Sierra 117.  
"Read you loud and clear, sir."  
"Heard you missed your flight."  
"Forgot to say goodbye to couple of people. Guess they didn't like that."  
"I've landed on the other side of facility and will meet you halfway. Sending you the coordinates now."  
"Gotcha. You have mine?"  
"Yes. See you there." The channel cut off and Auri ran on with newfound speed.

At length, she stopped at a T-section which gave her pause.  
"Damn, this place is huge," she muttered to herself as she consulted both the Librarian's map and her own with the Chief's IFF transponder marking his location and progress. She was almost at the halfway point and, suprisingly, the Flood weren't around. Sure, there were a few pockets of them scattered around but none in the immediate area.  
She followed one path with her finger and found that it would drop her off near the other Spartan. She turned left, consulted the maps again, and took off. The timer on her HUD read 2:23.  
Almost out of time, she thought. The T-section dumped her out into a cavernous room where she spotted the Chief across the way. Along with an army of Flood.  
And out of luck... her thought continued. The Spartan II ran towards her since most of the Flood were on his end. Auri spotted a discarded AR and pistol, which she promptly picked up just as the Chief reached her.  
1:20.  
"We need to move. Now!" Auri yelled as the two ran with each other, the Flood close on their heels. They made it into another hallway.  
00:57.  
Another dense group of Flood caused them to skid and turn down another hallway to avoid fighting them. A hideous ruckus was sounding behind them as the Flood pursued their fleeing prey with an unnatural determination.  
00:24.  
The chief lobbed two grenades over his shoulder to wreak havoc among their enemy.  
00:13.  
Auri looked at the timer ticking down, squeezed her shut once, and ran as fast as she could to reach the other side.  
00:00.  
The charges ignited the generators with quadrupled their explosions. It rocked the whole facility giving even the Flood pause. The two Spartans were thrown to the ground. Debris rained down on them as they scrambled to their feet. Auri glanced behind her and allowed herself a small sense of satisfaction when a large piece of the ceiling fell onto the group of Flood pursuing them.

The bombs the Spartans planted were picking up speed as they ran throughout the infected research facility.  
"Take a right here!" the Chief yelled over the explosions. Commander Auri, who was in front of him, turned right quickly down a corridor, following the Chief's directions. Then she skidded to a stop.  
"Well, shit," she breathed. She heard the Chief pull up behind her. In front of them stood massive amounts of the parasitic Flood. Auri felt her blood run cold when she spotted a few of her fallen Spartans among the infected crowd.  
The Chief tapped her arm and threw his thumb back the other way. The two took off with an army of flood on their heels. Static hissed in Auri's ear as someone tried to contact her over the COMMs. She tapped a button to try to clear up the interference as they ran. The static eased up slightly as they made another turn.  
The transmission was garbled but a few seconds later the words rang clear: "You will... not... escape! Not... stop us... you... Become one... of us..."  
Auri glanced up at the IFF tag to see who was talking to her and nearly froze when she saw Drinj's ID. He was dead. How could he be communicating with her? She immediately turned off her COMMs. She noticed that the Chief's helmet was turned slightly in her direction. She shook her head and nodded once at a stairwell. The doors at the top were open; if the two of them could run up there and get the doors bolted shut, that would buy them some time to get away from the Flood.  
Right as they got to the stairs, Auri handed the Chief two of grenades to create a distraction so that she could hack the nearby terminal. The Commander sprinted up the stairs, ran threw the doors, and reached the computer in record timing. She tapped a few commands and was in the system within moments. She heard two explosions as the frag grenades detonated, throwing Flood limbs every which way. The Chief slipped threw the door just as Auri was about to close it. She glanced up once and saw that the doors weren't closing. There was an infected Spartan running towards them to worry about.  
"Son of a bitch!" Auri swore as she punched in several commands to close the door. The Chief ran over to the door, grabbed both sides, and began to slowly pull them shut. The infected Spartan reached the door and pushed it open, all the while trying to get a grip on the Chief's armor. Suddenly, it wrapped it tentacle-like hand around the Spartan's neck and began to pull him out. Auri drew her pistol, aimed, and fired three times. One struck it in the head and the other two slammed home in its chest. It lost its grip on its prey and the door slammed shut on its arm. The arm twitched once and was still.  
That bought them some time but who knew how long it would take the Flood to find another way in. Already there was pounding on the door. The Spartans backed away; Auri consulted the blueprints she had. They were nearing some sort of vehicle station. There they could catch a ride. Auri traced a path that led out of the room they were in to the station.  
"It's not the most straightforward path, but it's the only one I can find at the moment," she said as she gave the map to the Chief.  
"It'll do. We just have to move quickly. This whole place is coming apart," he said and they set out. The explosions picked up pace and were raining more debris in the Spartans' path. They reached the vehicle station a few minutes later. Auri and the Chief froze. The entire vehicle bay was decimated. Pelicans, Warthogs, and several other transports were tossed aside like unwanted toys. None of them were in decent enough shape to help the Spartans.  
Defeat and frustration crossed Auri's face. She gritted her teeth behind her helmet. "C'mon, there's got to be something salvageable here," Auri said as she quickly walked forward.  
A plasma battery skittered into Auri's path and exploded in front of her causing her shields to flare up. The explosion threw her back. The Commander scrambled to her feet to see the Chief run past her. He paused for a moment to check to see if she was alright before he continued running. Auri glanced back and took off as fast as she could. The parasite was gaining on them.  
The Chief pointed to a hallway up ahead.  
"There. Blueprints say there's another vehicle station," he said. They reached the second bay; there were a few Warthogs in decent shape. A voice broke through Auri's COMMs.  
"Commander! It's Daniels. We're getting hammered on our end! Where are you?"  
"Daniels, you and the other need to get out of here!" Auri yelled into her COMMs. Then the familiar hum of plasma engines whined overhead. The two Spartans looked up to see a Phantom fly down overhead.  
"Daniels, I think the Chief and I just found our way outta here," Auri announced as the two began to make their way to the Phantom.  
"Roger that, ma'am," Daniels replied.


	10. Chapter 10

Ch. 10  
Auri dodged piece of debris to avoid getting hit before she keyed her COMMs again.  
"Now, I need you, Shenway, and Kerin to get the hell outta here. Who knows how much time-" Auri was cut off mid sentence when something exploded nearby, throwing her down. Her shields flared; her meter was down more than half.  
"Commander?" asked Shenway.  
"Get out now, dammit!"Auri yelled.  
"On it. See you on the other side!" replied Daniels.  
Auri glanced up in time to see the Chief get knocked down. Auri rose to her feet and made her way over to him. The building was falling apart completely. Larger pieces of debris fell down from all corners. The Chief was about to get up when Auri saw a support beam fall down towards them. She threw herself onto the other Spartan to keep him from getting hit. The beam fell and missed the two of them by a good few inches.  
Chief nodded once as they got up. Light at the other end caught their attention; the Phantom's gravity lift had been activated and two lone figures were exiting the drop ship. If the Spartans didn't run into any trouble once onboard, leaving this deathtrap would be a cinch. Suddenly the Chief grabbed Auri, covering her with his body just as flames from another plasma battery detonation passed over them. This one seemed much bigger than its previous ones since it kept hammering them down. Their shields took the brunt of the damage.  
Auri felt the Chief start to get off her when yet another detonation sounded nearby. They were suddenly airborne, flying head over heels.  
They were thrown back into a wall. Auri's shields finally broke when she the wall. A resounding smack next to her caught her attention. The commander turned around and saw the Chief collapse from impact. His shields had little time to recover from the previous detonation that when he was thrown into the wall, his armor had taken most of the damage but the impact knocked him out.  
Auri looked up and saw the outlines from the figures who left the Phantom closing in on their position; she looked back and regretted it when she locked eyes with an infected teammate. The parasite was closing in fast.  
She turned her attention to the fallen Spartan at her side. She grabbed his arm and threw it around her neck. Auri made sure her one full sidearm was within reach (the other pistol was nearly spent and was clipped to the other side of her waist) as she wrapped her other arm around the Chief's waist to support him as she hurried as fast she could to the Phantom.  
"Chief, c'mon. Get up," she said through her teeth. She repeated the phrase over and over again hoping it would get through to her fellow Spartan. She glanced back to see how far the Flood was to them; the parasite was quickly closing in on them. She redoubled her efforts to get them closer to the Phantom.  
She breathed out hard in frustration. "Goddammit, John, get off... Your lazy ass... and help me, dammit!" she practically yelled at him. The building rained down another large beam onto them. Auri barely dodged it as it hit the ground, knocking her off her feet.  
"Damn you, John," she grunted as she pulled him back up. The commander froze for a moment and looked up. The two hinge-heads that left the Phantom were now standing in front of her; one was in what , the commander thought, looked like ancient gold armor and the other was in white armor which would designate him to be either a Ship Master or SpecOps commander. The Spartan noted that he was missed half his jaw. Auri quickly grabbed both her sidearms and aimed them both at the aliens' heads. She stood between them and John with the parasite closing in on them.  
The Sangheili made no move towards their own weapons. The standoff lasted a few moments before Auri broke the silence.  
"What are we gonna do? Stand here all day? If you haven't noticed, this building's not going last much longer and I'd really like to leave before it falls down. Plus, I also would really like to not become a space zombie," she said through gritted teeth. The Elites remained silent.  
"So, are you going to move out of our way or not?" she spat.  
She heard a groan behind her and risked a small glance to look; the Chief was getting up. He shook his head and glanced at Auri before turning his attention to the Sangheili that stood in front of them.  
"I'm amazed to see that you are still alive, Spartan," said Goldie. Underneath her helmet, Auri furrowed her brow at the familiarity between the two.  
"You should know that it would take more than a collapsing portal to kill me," the Chief responded somewhat deadpan. He reached over and places a hand on one of Auri's arms.  
"They're friends," he said simply. Then Auri recognized the gold Elite to be the Arbiter, one of many Covenant Separatists that aided the UNSC in its war against the Prophet of Truth and the Flood.  
"What're you doing here?" Chief asked.  
"We'll explain later," replied Half Jaw, "For now, let's focus on getting the two of you out of here." On that they could agree.  
"Vadum," the Arbiter said, "get the Phantom prepped for take off. We will be right behind you." Half Jaw nodded once and took off towards the ship. The Chief was still shaken from being thrown around like a ragdoll, so Auri supported him as the Arbiter took the rear, doing whatever he could to keep the Flood off them.  
When the Elite's weapons overloaded, Auri passed the Chief to him along with a data chip she had found while searching the research facility. It had to have come from the Librarian, she has reasoned since it was conveniently placed in area where it would be found immediately.  
"If I don't make it back, give this to him," Auri said after handing over the data chip. The Arbiter nodded once and handed her an energy blade. The Spartan took it, glanced at the Flood behind them, and took off.  
Her plan was to keep the parasite away from the Arbiter and Chief long enough for them to reach the Phantom before she would join them.  
She shot her pistol twice to get the parasites' attention. It did and now she was dodging piles of debris that rained down on her. She ran with the energy blade hilt in one hand and the pistol in the other. Auri felt something hit her back and she tumbled to the ground. She activated the blade and swiped at any parasite that got within striking distance.  
She killed a few Flood but the infection forms revived their fallen brethren. She glanced back and saw the Elite and Spartan reach the Phantom. Auri had a frag and pulse grenade left. She grabbed the frag and rolled into the area where the Flood was the thickest and ran.  
A combat form ran after her and smacked her with its tendrils. She tripped but caught herself. She kept running.  
At the last second, she dropped the pulse grenade. It ignited and caught a few of the parasites. It exploded, vaporizing whatever Flood in its path. Auri was a few hundred yards away from the Phantom's grav lift when an explosion buffeted the drop ship causing it sway dangerously close to the ground.  
Auri threw herself to the ground to avoid being crushed. Suddenly a support beam dropped to the floor causing a mini earthquake to rock the area. The beam crushed a large amount of the Flood pursuing Auri. She looked up in time to see the Phantom heading her way. The Spartan got back up and ran as fast she could. The Phantom flew close to the edge of the area; the floor had dropped out revealing a chasm beneath it. One of the Phantom's side doors opened to Auri who spotted the Arbiter holding out a hand to her.  
Auri put on a burst of speed and jumped right as the floor below her fell. She grabbed the Sangheili's hand tightly and her momentum caused him to nearly fall out of the drop ship had he not been holding onto a side rail. The Arbiter hauled her in and yelled, "Close the doors and get us out of here!"  
The Phantom gained altitude an blew a hole in the already weakened ceiling to escape. Auri sat down and caught her breath. She glanced at the cockpit where Half Jaw was flying and glimpsed the research building collapsing finally into an inferno. Auri closed her eyes against the scene and hung her head.  
There were all but two Spartans left of Ghost team, not counting Kingesly, everyone else was dead.  
She keyed her COMM link. "Daniels, if you can hear this, the Chief and I got a ride home. We'll catch you guys back aboard the ship." She shut off her link and drew her knees into her chest for a moment. The Chief stood across from her leaning on one of the side rails for balance as Vadum carried them out. There were a few other Sangheili onboard but they remained silent.  
Auri felt her chest tightened and her eyes burned tears that she held back. She had rarely lost Spartans under her command. Generally it would be a bit of bad luck that one or two would die with her leading them but this... Losing half her squad... She couldn't bear the thought of leading another a group to their deaths. She heard armor plates clink together and looked up to see the other Spartan holding out his hand to her. Auri took it and was pulled up to where she was nearly eye level with him.  
"Don't blame yourself for their deaths. None of us was expecting... the Flood to return. You led them bravely," he said. Auri laughed slightly, her voice full of unshed tears.  
"You just... never get used to it," she replied softly, "You shouldn't." She took a shaky breath and removed her helmet. Her short black hair was tousled a bit and her blue eyes glistened somewhat as the tears pushed past her restrained. She wiped her face quickly, took another breath and gave the other Spartan a faint hint of a smile. She could almost see the puzzled expression under his helmet. She turned her attention to the Arbiter who seemed to be waiting patiently for her. She held out her hand and the Sangheili obliged by giving her the data chip.  
"When my... team and I were searching the facility, the Librarian appeared startling us," she began laughing at the memory, "She told us what the facility's situation was and gave me this." Auri held up the data chip. The Chief froze for a moment. The commander grin widened a bit as she said, "I believe this belongs to you." The Chief took the data chip from Auri, holding it gingerly in his hands. He looked up at the Spartan who nodded her head once.  
Suddenly, a familiar voice filled the air.  
"You did good, Chief," Cortana said with a soft smile on her face.


	11. Chapter 11

Character List

Rachel Auri: female, Commander

Casey Jennings: female, Corporal, tech specialist

Jonah Kerin: male, Corporal

Heather Shenway: female, Corporal

Katerina Corcova: female, Lieutenant

Daniel Kent: male, Lieutenant, Pelican pilot

Dana Hannly: female, Corporal

Samuel Daniels: male, Private

Stephen Corillo: male, Private

Erin Drinj: male, Lieutenant

Auri's squad(F): Daniels(M), Kent(M), Corillo(M), and Drinj(M)

Corova's squad(F): Kerin(M), Jennings(F), Shenway(F), and Hannly(F


	12. Possible Epilogue?

Regarding my Halo fanfiction They Have Returned I was thinking about adding in an epilogue or something that basically talked about what happened when the phantom carrying the Chief, Auri and the two other Sangheili (also will include the other 3 spartans that made it). What do you guys think?


	13. Chapter 13

Ch. 11  
Liutenant Rannon breathed a sigh of relief when the other patrol dismissed her group. One round around a ship that was practically the size of a city took at least three if not four hours to walk. Everyone had been on edge since the Prometheans attacked. Damned teleporting bastards. You knock one down, a Watcher flies over, revives it, and you're back to square one. The crawlers were even worse, blindsiding marines who were focused on the Knights. For the moment everything was quiet. The marines took advantage of whatever down time they were given, spending it eating, taking a nap somewhere, or showering after a long patrol.  
"I'll catch you guys down in the Mess in fifteen," Rannon told her group as they parted ways. She hurried down to the women's barracks and was grateful to find the showers clear. It had been almost a week since she was able to wash properly and she could really feel the grime on her skin. She showered quickly and changed into military issued sweats. Her short wet hair pulled up into a bun, Rannon headed over the Mess Hall where she grabbed a good meal and sat down with her comrades.  
"Hey, el-tee," Private Dervin announced as she sat down. She nodded in his direction before diving into her food. All they had to eat the past week were the MREs which weren't exactly tasty.  
"So, anyone have an idea on how we stop these bastard Prometheans from getting inside the ship?" Corporal Gerring asked.  
Dervin gave the corporal a look. "Do we have to discuss this at meal time?" he asked before shoving a biscuit into his mouth.  
"Now's about as good a time as any," Rannon replied turning her attention to Gerring, "Did you find anything useful?"  
"I might have found a way to slow their teleportation or at least make an early alert system," Gerring replied looking at her food.  
"Really?" Dervin asked as the others stared at her.  
"It'd be similar to how an EMP blast affects electronics. It fries them. I don't even know if it would work but I'd be willing to show you, ma'am, and have Roland run a couple simulations."  
"That would be wonderful, Corporal. We can head to Engineering and set something up after we're done eating."  
After a half hour Gerring, Rannon, and Dervin left the Mess and headed over to the elevator when Gerring stopped.  
"Oh crap. I forgot my datapad," she said.  
"Is it important?" Rannon asked.  
"Yes, ma'am. All my notes are on it."  
"Why didn't you just give them to Roland to hold on to?" Dervin asked.  
"If I did that, he'd find something wrong with it and would constantly torment me with how stupid of a mistake it was in that damned sarcastic manner of his." Gerring's expression soured at a distant memory. Rannon smothered her laughter.  
"Hah ha. My apologies Corporal. Where is it?" Rannon asked.  
"Back in barracks. Why?"  
"I'll get it for you. Which room?"  
"Eh, 2395... I think it's next to my cot. We'll meet you in Engineering then. Thanks, ma'am."  
"Anytime." Dervin and Gerring stepped into the elevator while Rannon made her way back to the barracks.

Ten minutes later, Rannon purused the hallway. "2389... 2392... Ah! 2395!" she said to herself. She placed her palm on the panel next to the door with confirmed her identity and slid open. Once in, Rannon noticed how clean and neat the corporal's room was. Half the marines Rannon left their rooms fairly messy until inspection. She looked around the room until she spotted a thin, rectangular object on the night stand. Rannon picked it up and accidentally activated the passcode. It beeped at her, saying that she was not its owner and proceeded to shut down when Rannon caught a glimpse of a photograph on the desktop. It was a picture of a little boy and girl in the arms of a handsome young man that Rannon took to be Gerring's husband. The LT smiled and turned around to leave when Roland activated the holopad near the door. Rannon jumped.  
"Christ! Roland!" she yelped.  
"Did I scare you?" the AI asked her in a mocking manner. The marine glared at him. Roland's expression sobered quickly.  
"I was looking for you, Lieutenant."  
"What now? Don't you report to Commander Palmer?"  
"Spartan Palmer's currently away on a mission."  
"And Captain Lasky?"  
"I already informed him. He sent me to find you since you're now head of the military staff."  
"Funny. I wasn't aware of that."  
"It's effective as of now. At least until somebody else qualifies for it." Rannon bristled at the comment but Roland was already moving on. "The point is that the Spartan group designated Fireteam Ghost is now back." Rannon quickly left the room still holding onto Gerring's datapad.  
"Annnnd?"  
"They've brought friends."  
"'Friends'? As in whom?" Rannon narrowed her eyes at a security camera as she passed by.  
"It'll be easier to show you if you came down to the hangar bay."  
"Alright, so give me the run down," Rannon said as she made her way back down the hall to the lift.  
"Apparently Spartan Commander Auri and her team came in contact with the Flood," Roland said. Rannon nearly stopped in her tracks.  
"The... Flood? But I-I thought they were destroyed when that Alpha ring detonated."  
"That cluster was. This is a separate case. What data I gathered from Auri was that even though this was a shield world the Flood had managed to somehow get onto it but they didn't get a chance to overwhelm the planet. The Forerunners on Requiem pushed the parasite back and were able to contain it within one of the research facilities they had on Requiem. There the Forerunners studied the Flood to see if there was a way to combat it but there must've been a breakout since the Forerunners locked the facility down. The Flood, having no food to sustain itself, went dormant and stayed that way until our scientists opened up the facility."  
"...Shit," Rannon muttered under her breath as she entered the elevator. She pushed the button that was labeled Hangar Bay and the elevator descended into the belly of the ship.  
"Did the scientists discover anything?" Rannon asked him.  
"As far as I can tell..."- Roland paused for a second- "Actually, they may have found a possible cure to the parasite. I'm not sure if it is legitimate but it's worth looking into."  
"I don't know, Roland. I don't want us sticking our noses into something that could go horribly wrong. That tactic hasn't really worked well for us in the past. Now, what about Commander Auri and her Spartans? How many were there that were sent on the mission?"  
"Ten in total."  
"And... casualites?"  
After a pause Roland replied, "Six."  
"Six Spartans?!"  
Roland sighed. "Unfortunately, yes. I wish I was lying but... yes."  
"Dammit..." The elevator dinged once signalling Rannon's ride was at an end.  
"Look, get a message to our friends up top. They're probably going to want to take a look at this data since they have had firsthand experience with the Flood."  
"Message away, ma'am." Rannon was no more than five feet out of the elevator when a swishing sound alerted her of something teleporting in. Without thinking, Rannon's hand moved to her sidearm which wasn't there; she had left it on her belt which laid in her quarters. She cursed and moved onto what she thought to be the next best thing: Gerring's datapad. Rannon turned towards the noise with the datapad raised up to club whatever it was in the head when she was stopped short by a voice.  
"I'm sorry. Should we have teleported a few feet away from you?" came a concerned female voice. Rannon lowered her makeshift club. In front of her stood two figures who were both close to nine feet tall and decked out in steel-colored ancient ceremonial armor. A man and a woman who were siblings. They were also Forerunners.  
"No... Well, yes, that would've been nice," Rannon said.  
"Your AI said that it was important that we reach the hangar bay," replied the man.  
"I did," Roland said over the intercom.  
"And what is so important that required our attention?" the woman asked. It was strange as to how human the Forerunners looked yet so alien at the same time. It was like looking in the Hall of Mirrors at a carneval.  
"One of our Spartan groups has come in contact with the Flood," Rannon informed them. Both froze at once.  
"The parasite... on Requiem...?" the man asked.  
"Were you not aware?"  
"No we... weren't. Our mother... failed to educate us on that manner." The man's tone took a very bitter note.  
"Anyway," Rannon went on, "We were wondering if you could see if there are any Flood spores on them? See if they're clean?" Rannon addressed the phantom and pelican that sat, with their occupants patiently waiting inside.  
"I'll scan them," the woman said. She then turned around to where Captain Lasky was standing. "If it would be alright, Captain, could my brother analyse the data your Spartans gathered. We would like to see if there is anything we could gleam from this... discovery," she asked.  
"Go ahead. You have a lot more information on the Flood than we do," Lasky replied.  
"Thank you," the woman said, then muttered under her breath, "We had no more information than you do. Only tools that were developed too late." Rannon gave the Forerunner and odd look as the two strode over to the waiting dropships. Lasky signalled for the passengers to disembark. Both bay doors on the ships opened and out stepped five Spartans and two Sangheili.  
A few marines were instantly on high alert. Guns were aimed at the two aliens who, reluctantly, held their up to where they were visible.  
"What the hell are these two hinge-heads doing here?" growled a sergeant.  
"Lower your weapons!" Lasky ordered. The marines stared at him. "That's the Arbiter," Lasky snapped. The marines, remembering the Sangheili who had helped humanity push back the Covenant, warily lowered their weapons.  
"And his... friend, Captain?" the sergeant asked.  
"Shipmaster Vadum. Commander of the Shadow of Intent, that without the help of his fleet, the Flood would have engulfed your planet when they first arrived," the Arbiter called out.  
"I'd shake your hands and welcome aboard but considering the fact that you all came in contact with the Flood, you'll have to be subjected to a preventive scans," Lasky explained.  
"We understand," Vadum replied, inclining his head. The Sangheili then turned their attention to the two Forerunners and shared a look.  
"Who are they?" the Arbiter asked. The two Forerunners shared a look themselves before answering him.  
"We are Forerunners. The last two that we know of," the woman replied, "We are your so called 'gods'. I am Starfire Burns Brightly in the Darkness and this my brother, Shaken to the Core."  
"I never... actually thought I'd meet one," Vadum admitted.  
"Don't worry. We never thought we'd be woken up out of our cryogenic sleep," the man replied. The Sangheili nodded as the two Forerunners walked over to the group. Their helmets moved to cover their faces. Star pulled a device from her forearm and waved it over each member while her brother took the data from Commander Auri.  
"I'll make sure you get a copy of both the data and the results," he said.  
"I'd appreciate it," Lasky replied. The Forerunner then disappeared from the hangar. In one of the Infinity's labs, Core began analyzing the data with Roland there to help him whenever he could.  
After forty five minutes of in depth scanning, the five Spartans and two Sangheili checked out clean of Flood infection, spores, and other nasties. The female Forerunner copied her results and sent one copy to Lasky while keeping one to herself. She then teleported up to join her brother. The Spartans were free to go, having already sent in their reports. Auri stayed behind while her teammates walked to the back of the cargo bay. Shenway turned around to look at her XO. Auri could tell that Shen was concerned due to her body language. Auri waved her off and gave her a nod to tell the other Spartan that she was alright. Shenway returned the nod and walked off. Auri looked back over at the Chief who was leaning against the phantom. Auri opened up one of her armor's pockets and pulled out the data chip that half her team had died for. She walked over to Lasky.  
"Captain, here's the data we were able to find in the facility," she said, holding the data chip out to him. The captain took it from her and examined it.  
"I hope this thing was worth your squad, Commander. We lost way too many good people down there."  
"It... damn well better be, sir. Too many of my Spartans died for it." Lasky looked at the Spartan Commander, his face reflected in her visor. Her expression was unreadable.  
"Is there anything else I need to do for you, sir, or may I leave?" she asked.  
"You can go for now. I'll let you know if we find anything of use. Roland will notify you."  
"And sir? What about the Sangheili? You're not going to lock them up are you?"  
Lasky inhaled deeply. "I... don't see any reason to but we'll need to keep them away from the other marines. We have been fighting them for too long. Old... habits... die hard, I believe," the Captain explained. The Commander shrugged slightly before walking off. Lasky then turned around to Lieutenant Rannon who was still standing there.  
"Lieutenant, was there something you needed?" he asked her.  
"Oh, yessir! A squad mate of mine said she had a possible way to slow Promethean entry onto the ship."  
"Really?"  
"Yes sir. I was on my way back to Engineering when Roland caught me."  
"As soon as I give this chip to Roland, I'll meet you in Engineering to test this theory."  
"Alright, thank you, sir." Rannon joined Lasky in the elevator and they left. Vadum, the Arbiter, and Chief remained in the cargo bay until Roland appeared on one of the nearby holo-tubes. There was a room where the Sangheili could stay for the moment. Seeing no other alternative, they followed Roland out of the cargo bay and up the ramp. The Chief followed them and stopped off at the armory to remove his armor. He spotted the other four Spartans there. Kerin and Shenway were in front of Daniels and Auri who were having their armor removed. Shenway had shoulder length strawberry blonde hair with faint freckles across her face. Kerin had buzz cut brown hair and scar that ran from the back of his around to his right collar bone. Kerin was wearing a long sleeved fitted shirt and military sweats. Shenway was wearing a short sleeved version. On her left arm, a long ragged scar ran around the length of her bicep and ended halfway down her forearm. Daniels was finished a few minutes before Auri. Once she was out of her armor, she stretched and pinwheeled her arms for a few seconds before she was satisfied. They talked a bit more before heading towards the elevator at the end of the room. The Chief watched them as they walked on before heading over to the technicians and removed his armor.

Auri and Shenway had stopped off at the womens' locker room to shower and change. Shenway was done before Auri. The Commander said she'd meet her and the others back at the Mess once she was finished. Shenway eyed her commander but left the area. Auri showered quickly and changed into the casual wear that she kept on her locker. She pulled the shirt over her head and paused for a moment, a picture catching her eye. On her locker was a picture of her and her team after a successful mission. They were all sitting at one of the tables in the Mess, smiling and laughing. Anger surged through the Commander. Grief welled up too causing tears to form and spill over onto the floor. Her knees buckled under her and she slid to the ground. She covered her face with her hands and the tears spilled over.  
She stayed there for another twenty minutes before she could really compose herself. She washed her face and straightened out her clothing and made her way to the Mess Hall. When she got there, she noticed that the lights had dimmed (most likely due to the fact that power from unused areas were transfered back to the main power supply) and that there was hardly anybody there. A data pad sat on top of a nearby table. Auri picked it up and swiped her index finger on the scanner. It opened up and revealed a message.  
Hey Commander,  
It's Shen. I didn't want to bug you but me and boys moved back over to the barracks since there was hardly anybody in the Mess. Saved you some food if you want to join us.  
- Shen and co.  
Auri smiled. She closed the data pad and glanced. Way in the back she spotted another Spartan. She didn't have to guess who it was. The Chief was built much bigger than the Fours. He may have been a few inches shorter without the armor but he was still a tall guy. Shrugging to herself, Auri walked over to the Spartan II. A blue light eminated from his hands, flickering slightly as if it were talking to him. He glanced up at her approach and wrapped his hands around the chip.  
"Hi," she said a bit hesistantly.  
"Hey," John replied a bit gruffly.  
"May I join you, sir?" John waved his hand in response and Auri sat down. She set the data pad on her lap and clasped her hands in front of her. Here was where she hated not having her armor on. Everyone could tell what her expression was, what she thought. Nothing was hidden away. The armor felt like a mask she could wear. She bit her lip before trying to break the ice.  
"Uh, sir... I wanted to thank you for helping get my team and me out of there. It was... greatly appreciated," she said and looked at him. John had his head down for a moment. His facce was pale. He had short dark brown hair and his expression was unreadable at the moment. He looked up at the commander and Auri saw that he had piercing dark blue eyes.  
"You're welcome," he said, "And... I wanted to... thank you for returning... this" - he shook his closed hand - "to me. I...Thank you." Auri gave him a tentative half smile.  
"You're welcome. If you like, sir, would care to join me and my teammates for dinner upstairs?" John contemplated her suggestion for a moment and Auri figured he'd say no. She got up.  
"I'll join you," he said. She looked at him.  
"Okay. Cool. I just hope they haven't eaten all the food."  
John got up and walked with the commander towards the elevator.


End file.
